Montgomery County

Montgomery County, Maryland — key demographics (latest Census/ACS)

Population

• 1,062,061 (2020 Census); roughly 1.06 million in 2023 ACS estimates, essentially flat since 2020

Age

• Median age: ~39.5 years
• Under 18: ~23%
• 18–24: ~7%
• 25–44: ~30%
• 45–64: ~25%
• 65+: ~15%

Gender

• Female: ~51.5%
• Male: ~48.5%

Racial/ethnic composition

• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~22%
• Race alone (regardless of Hispanic origin): White ~57%, Black or African American ~20%, Asian ~16%, Two or more races ~5%, Other (including AIAN/NHPI) ~1%
• Non-Hispanic White: ~41% (county is majority–minority)

Households

• Total households: ~380,000
• Average household size: ~2.7–2.8 persons
• Family households: ~67% of all households; married-couple families ~49–50%
• Households with children under 18: ~34%
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~64%

Insights

• Highly diverse, with no single non-Hispanic group in the majority and a sizable Hispanic/Latino and Asian presence
• Age structure is slightly older than the U.S. overall, but with a strong share of family households and children
• Household sizes are modestly above the national average, consistent with a large share of family households and multigenerational living in some communities

• County profile: Montgomery County, MD population ≈1.06 million; density ≈2,160 people per sq. mile.
• Estimated email users: ≈786,000 residents. Method: applied national email-adoption rates by age to the county’s age structure.
• Age distribution of email users (approx. counts):
  • 18–29: ~158,000 (about 20%)
  • 30–49: ~271,000 (about 34%)
  • 50–64: ~194,000 (about 25%)
  • 65+: ~163,000 (about 21%)
• Gender split: Email usage is near parity; ≈51% of users are female and ≈49% male, mirroring the county’s overall population.
• Digital access and trends:
  • Households with a broadband internet subscription: about 94% (among the highest in Maryland), with computer access in the vast majority of households.
  • Adoption is strongest in higher‑income, highly educated areas; gaps persist among lower‑income, limited‑English, and 65+ populations, influencing email reliance and frequency.
  • County libraries, parks, and government facilities provide extensive public Wi‑Fi, complementing home connectivity.
• Local connectivity facts: Countywide high‑speed service from major providers (e.g., Verizon Fios and Xfinity) and dense suburban development support strong email and internet engagement across neighborhoods.

Mobile phone usage in Montgomery County, Maryland: key figures, demographics, and infrastructure, with how the county differs from statewide patterns.

User estimates

• Population baseline: ≈1.06 million residents (ACS 2023). Adults (18+) are roughly three-quarters of the population.
• Smartphone users (age 13+): ≈810,000. This estimate applies age-specific adoption rates from recent Pew Research (very high among teens and prime-age adults, somewhat lower among seniors) to the county’s age structure and higher-than-average income/education profile.
• Household smartphone presence: on the order of the mid-90s percent of households have at least one smartphone, materially above the Maryland average. Mobile-only internet households are a small minority in the county.

Demographic breakdown (usage patterns)

• Age
  • 13–34: Near-saturation smartphone ownership and heavy app-based usage (video, social, mobile payments). Montgomery County aligns with or slightly exceeds the already-high statewide rates for this group.
  • 35–64: Very high ownership; above-state adoption of multi-line family plans and employer-paid lines due to the concentration of federal, biotech, healthcare, and professional services jobs.
  • 65+: Higher smartphone adoption than the Maryland average, reflecting the county’s education and income levels; seniors are less likely to be mobile-only for home internet compared with statewide peers.
• Income
  • High-income households (a larger share in Montgomery County than statewide) are more likely to maintain both wired broadband and mobile plans, use premium postpaid lines, and carry 5G-capable devices. This reduces smartphone-only reliance compared with the state average.
  • Lower-income pockets (notably parts of East County, Gaithersburg, Wheaton) show elevated smartphone dependence for internet access, but still less mobile-only reliance than the state overall because of stronger library, school, and subsidy-enabled wired access.
• Race/ethnicity and nativity
  • A sizable immigrant population drives above-average use of OTT messaging (WhatsApp, WeChat, Viber) and dual-SIM/unlocked devices for cross-border communications.
  • Hispanic and Black residents, as elsewhere, have high smartphone adoption; in Montgomery County they also benefit from comparatively better public Wi‑Fi and device programs, moderating mobile-only internet reliance versus statewide rates.
• Education
  • With one of the highest bachelor’s-and-above shares in Maryland, the county skews toward newer devices, stronger security preferences (authenticator apps, biometrics), and higher uptake of mobile banking, telehealth, and government services apps.

Digital infrastructure highlights

• Coverage and capacity
  • 4G LTE coverage is effectively universal in populated areas. 5G mid-band (2.5 GHz for T-Mobile; 3.45/3.7 GHz C-band for AT&T/Verizon) blankets most of the county’s dense corridors and town centers, supporting typical 5G median speeds well above LTE.
  • mmWave small cells are concentrated in high-traffic nodes (Bethesda, Silver Spring, Rockville downtowns, major commercial corridors), improving capacity for venues and peak times.
  • Outlying upcounty areas within the Agricultural Reserve (e.g., near Poolesville/Barnesville) remain the county’s relative weak spots for indoor and in-vehicle coverage, though still better than the rural gaps seen in parts of Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore.
• Transit and campuses
  • Cellular service along the I‑270 tech corridor is dense, with targeted small-cell deployments. Metrorail coverage through the Red Line in the county has been substantially enhanced since 2020, improving continuous voice/data service in stations and tunnels used by commuters.
  • Large federal/biomedical campuses (NIH Bethesda, FDA White Oak) and research parks drive advanced in‑building systems and growing CBRS/private LTE usage for operations, positioning the county ahead of the Maryland average for enterprise/mobile edge investments.
• Wireline interplay
  • Extensive fiber and HFC availability (FiOS and cable) keeps most households on a wired-plus-mobile blend; this underpins high Wi‑Fi offload and lowers congestion compared with Maryland counties with sparser fiber footprints.

How Montgomery County differs from Maryland overall

• Higher smartphone penetration among adults and seniors, but a lower share of mobile-only households. Residents are more likely to maintain both mobile and wired subscriptions.
• More premium postpaid plans, multi-line family accounts, and employer-sponsored lines; lower prepaid share than the state average.
• Heavier use of OTT international messaging and dual-SIM/unlocked phones due to a larger foreign-born population.
• Denser 5G mid-band and small-cell buildouts in economic hubs and along the Red Line/I‑270 corridor than is typical statewide; better in-building systems at large campuses.
• The digital divide is narrower than the state average, though still present in specific neighborhoods; targeted public Wi‑Fi and device programs help suppress smartphone-only dependence compared with statewide patterns.

Bottom line

• Montgomery County exhibits very high mobile penetration, faster 5G availability in population centers, and a wired-plus-mobile usage model strengthened by robust fiber and enterprise infrastructure. Compared with the Maryland average, the county relies less on mobile as a sole connection, skews toward newer 5G devices and premium plans, and shows distinctive international communication patterns tied to its diverse, highly educated population.

Social media usage in Montgomery County, MD (latest available, 2023–2024)

County baseline

• Population: ≈1.06 million
• Adults (18+): ≈0.82 million (about 77% of population)
• Households with broadband: ≈94%
• Gender: ≈51.5% female, 48.5% male

Overall reach

• Estimated adult social-media reach: ≈80–85% of adults, or roughly 650,000–700,000 people (using Pew Research national adoption rates applied to county demographics; YouTube alone reaches ~83% of U.S. adults)

Most-used platforms among adults (Percentages are U.S. adult usage from Pew Research Center 2024 unless noted; counts are approximate for Montgomery County adults by applying those rates)

• YouTube: 83% (~675k adults)
• Facebook: 68% (~555k)
• Instagram: 47% (~385k)
• Pinterest: 35% (~285k)
• LinkedIn: 33% (~270k)
• TikTok: 33% (~270k)
• Snapchat: 30% (~245k)
• WhatsApp: 29% (~240k)
• X (Twitter): 27% (~220k)
• Reddit: 22% (~180k)
• Nextdoor: 13% (~105k) — national estimate from Pew 2021; suburban, higher-income areas like Montgomery County typically over-index

Age groups

• Teens (13–17): ≈60–70k residents; very high use of YouTube (~95%) and strong use of TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram (each ~60% range nationally). Facebook is comparatively low among teens.
• Young adults (18–29): Heaviest on YouTube and Instagram; strong use of TikTok and Snapchat; Facebook is secondary.
• Adults 30–49: Broad, multi-platform use; Facebook remains central, Instagram rising; WhatsApp common for family/community groups; LinkedIn strong.
• Adults 50–64: Facebook and YouTube dominate; Pinterest and LinkedIn see steady use; Instagram moderate; TikTok growing but lower than younger cohorts.
• 65+: Facebook and YouTube lead; WhatsApp and Nextdoor are notable for neighborhood and family communications.

Gender breakdown (patterns consistent with Pew national data)

• Women more likely than men to use Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest; strong participation in neighborhood and school/parent groups.
• Men more likely than women to use Reddit, X (Twitter), and YouTube; higher participation in tech, sports, and civic/policy discourse.
• LinkedIn usage is high across genders due to the county’s professional workforce (biotech, federal, contractors).

Behavioral trends specific to Montgomery County

• Neighborhood and civic coordination: Facebook Groups and Nextdoor are primary for HOAs, PTAs, local buy/sell, safety alerts, lost/found pets, and weather/snow updates.
• Multilingual, community-based messaging: High use of WhatsApp for school, faith, and immigrant community chats (notably Spanish, Chinese, Amharic, and Korean); some WeChat/Telegram pockets.
• Government and public services: Residents commonly follow Montgomery County Government, MCPS, libraries, and emergency management on Facebook, X, Nextdoor, and YouTube for alerts and program updates.
• Local news and happenings: Strong engagement with MoCo-focused outlets and creators on X, Instagram, and YouTube for hyperlocal news, dining, and events (Bethesda, Silver Spring, Rockville).
• Professional networking: Above-average LinkedIn activity tied to NIH/FDA, biotech corridor, federal contractors, and policy nonprofits; events and hiring circulate heavily via LinkedIn.
• Commerce and discovery: Instagram and TikTok drive local dining, small business discovery, and arts/event attendance; Pinterest supports home/DIY trends among homeowners.
• Privacy and parent groups: Active, private Facebook and WhatsApp groups for schools and extracurriculars coordinate logistics, recommendations, and advocacy.

Notes on methodology and sources

• Population, age, broadband, and gender figures reflect U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2023 estimates for Montgomery County.
• Platform percentages reflect Pew Research Center’s Social Media Use in 2024 (adults) and Pew Research on Teens and Social Media (2023). County user counts are estimates derived by applying national adoption rates to the county’s adult population.